


Great Expectations

by Soleya



Series: Fifty First Dates [7]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:33:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28539642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soleya/pseuds/Soleya
Summary: Fifty First Dates.  Jack has the perfect fancy first date planned.  And it's all wrong.
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill
Series: Fifty First Dates [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1707853
Comments: 26
Kudos: 63





	Great Expectations

“Another one?”

Jack glanced at the empty pint glass in front of him, then at his watch. He absolutely had time to drink a second beer before he left the airport to pick up Carter.

He just probably _shouldn’t_.

But the last time he’d been this nervous, he’d been hiding an engagement ring. At his nod, the bartender grabbed a clean pint glass.

~/~

Jack had popped a mint on his way out of the bar; he crunched the second one he’d taken as he headed up the sidewalk toward Carter’s front door. If she smelled beer on him, he was probably toast. But the liquid courage had worked; he knocked on her door without hesitation.

She called something, two syllables, too muffled to make out. Pondering that for a second, he finally opened the door a crack and called back, “Was that ‘come in’?”

“Yes!”

“Okay.” Good. Stepping inside, he closed the door behind him and headed for the living room.

“Sorry, I just need another minute. You’re early,” her voice wafted from the open door of her bedroom.

Only a few minutes, and Carter was usually the early one. “We’ve got plenty of time,” he called back, settling onto the couch. His foot started tapping anxiously almost immediately, and he quashed it, glancing at his watch. And glancing at it again a minute later when she still hadn’t emerged. And a minute after that. “Okay, now I’m officially on time,” he told her.

“Right. Sorry.”

But she didn’t come out. And suddenly it struck Jack just how quiet it was in her direction. She wasn’t bustling around, opening drawers and closet doors. He hadn’t heard anything at all, and he didn’t quite know what to make of that. “You okay in there?”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” She appeared in the doorway almost immediately.

And for a moment, Jack couldn’t speak. The blue dress she’d chosen curved over her breasts and dipped sensuously between them, the lower hem not quite kissing her knees. She was dead sexy in combat boots, but in those heels….

“Too much?” she asked, her hands creeping in front of her as a shield. “I’m too tall for these.”

Jack rolled off the couch to his feet. “No. No, you look…. You look great.”

She smiled at him, but he couldn’t help noticing the anxiety that didn’t leave her eyes. It was entirely possible that he looked the same, though he was trying his damnedest to hide it. The beer was helping. Stepping around the coffee table, he said, “So, I got us -”

Carter headed for her purse on the kitchen counter. And if it was supposed to escape Jack’s notice that she took the other path, rounding the coffee table and the sofa without coming anywhere near him, it didn’t. “Reservations at Antonio’s,” he finished awkwardly.

“Sounds great.” She stayed at the counter, her back to him, and Jack craned his neck to see her take a few items from her purse and put them into a smaller, fancier bag. She had a reason for standing fifteen feet from him, then.

Until she didn’t. He saw her clasp the bag shut. And then pick at a fingernail.

Well, this wasn’t going well. Trying to keep his voice gentle, he asked, “You okay?”

“Yeah. Of course,” she rushed, spinning around with a pasted-on smile. “Why?”

“Because the look on your face is the one you get when you’re sure we’re all gonna die but you don’t want anybody to know you’re terrified.”

A cringe flashed across her features as her eyes dropped to the floor between them. As usual, he had her pegged. “Sorry. I just… uh….”

“It’s okay.” Turning his palms up to show he was harmless, he took a slow step toward her, then another. “Look, I know this seems huge, but it’s just dinner. No big deal.”

She still didn’t dare look at him, but she laughed a little – in disbelief, clearly – and he said, ‘What?”

“That’s the tone _you_ use when you don’t believe a word you’re saying.”

It was his turn to chuckle uncomfortably, and his turn to look away, rubbing at the back of his neck. “You know, I’ve never been on a first date with a woman who can see right through me.”

Maybe it was foolish to try this after so long. He knew her – her strengths, her faults, her quirks, the tiniest of her expressions – better than he’d known Sara after a decade of marriage, so the idea of a _date_ , as though he’d met her in a bar or in his college history lecture, was downright laughable.

But he adored her. He loved her – every ounce as much as he’d loved his wife – and there had to be a way across the gulf between them. There just had to be. “Carter,” he tried, then, “Sam. Look.” But he couldn’t have a heartfelt conversation with a couch between them. He stepped around it, watched her suck in a breath, and left the distance. “Okay, yeah, it’s a big deal,” he admitted, palms up in a shrug. “It’s a huge deal. But it doesn’t change anything.”

Her eyes flared, chin twisting a bit to give him the side-eye in utter disbelief. “It _doesn’t_?”

“No. It doesn’t.”

“How do you figure _that_?”

“Because….” He sucked in a breath for courage. “Because I made you a promise, and I meant it. That I would be here for you. No matter what. Nothing that could happen tonight is gonna change that.” Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he told her, “At the risk of sounding like a stalker, you’re stuck with me. I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

Her jaw had slackened, the anxiety in her eyes fading to something much, much deeper. She looked afraid. And very, very young. “Promise?” she breathed.

“Promise. Again,” he assured her, holding out an inviting hand. “Come on, let’s eat.”

Crossing the distance between them, she took his hand. But she didn’t stop there, stepping all the way into him to press her cheek to his as her free hand slid around his waist. He echoed the gesture, holding her tight. They’d done this before – as teammates, as friends – but the awkwardness of that was gone entirely. She was warm and soft and perfect in his arms, and he could have held her forever.

“Well, this is a bit of an odd start, but I’ll take it,” he murmured in her ear, and she purred agreement against his shoulder as he tenderly pressed his lips to her cheek. “You ready for dinner?”

She nodded, though it took another moment for her to disentangle herself and head to the door with Jack at her heels. He opened it for her as she pulled a wrap around her shoulders, and they headed for the car.

~/~

Jack had really outdone himself with the restaurant, and it made him cringe. Even in black slacks and his nicest button-down shirt, he felt incredibly under-dressed; he was probably the only guy there not in a suit coat. And it was Colorado Springs, of course, so more than one of those jackets was a uniform. Carter was in front of him, just behind the maitre d’ who led them to their table. He couldn’t really see her face, but she was definitely glancing around, probably doing the same math he was. The diamonds on some of the women around them were worth more than Jack made in a year.

Carter deserved diamonds. But maybe not gaudy ones like those. And they probably weren’t an appropriate gift for a first date at any size.

The maitre d’ pulled out her chair for her, helped her push it to the table as she sat, and opened her napkin for her as Jack slid into his own chair. “Wine and cocktails,” the younger man explained as he set a menu on the table. “Matthew will be your server tonight. He’ll be with you shortly.”

And then he left.

And it was _so awkward_.

Jack cleared his throat in the silence as Carter picked a piece of lint off her dress. “Sorry, I probably should have done that,” he told her.

Her eyes shifted to him, wide in question. “Done what?”

“The chair thing,” he explained, gesturing.

“Oh. Uh…. I think he’s paid to do that,” she said.

“Ah. Right.”

“Yeah.”

And it was quiet again. Maybe Jack should have had that third beer, after all. He was about to go for the liquor menu when Carter beat him to it, catching it with one finger and sliding it toward her side of the table. She probably did want wine – he really couldn’t blame her – but he couldn’t help but think it was an excuse not to look at him.

This was going really well. Even better when her eyes widened a little and she took a careful breath in and out.

“Let me guess: it’s not two-buck Chuck,” he said.

“Uh, no,” she answered uncomfortably. “No, it’s not.”

It didn’t matter. He was an O-7 and she was an O-5 with hazard pay. Both of them got housing allotments. A bottle of fancy wine and an expensive dinner would hardly break either of them. It just wasn’t something they _did_. “Anything sound good?” he tried, because it sounded better than asking how many of the options cost more than his car payment.

“I don’t know half of what I’m looking at,” she admitted with something that was probably supposed to be a smile but was more of a cringe.

Oh, boy, she could build a space ship, but the wine list was intimidating. Jack had really chosen the wrong place.

Their waiter stepped up beside them, placing two glasses on the table and filling them with a carafe of water, because just bringing full glasses wasn’t fancy enough. “Good evening. I’m Matthew and I’ll be your server tonight. Do you have any questions about the wine list?”

“No,” Carter answered in the tone that said otherwise. “I just need a minute.”

The waiter’s eyes shifted to Jack, who told him, “I haven’t looked yet.”

“A menu for you, sir,” the waiter offered, handing one over. “And for the lady.”

Carter had looked more comfortable on Goa’uld ships. Many times over.

“For our specials this evening, we start with a chestnut and mushroom terrine. Then we have a grilled swordfish with Sicilian caper sauce or a dill-crusted pork tenderloin with farro. I’ll give you a moment to look things over.”

Okay, that was _it_. As he left, Jack leaned over the table and hissed, “ _What_ did he just say?”

The woman across the table looked almost as lost. “Well, farro’s a grain, I think. Like barley.”

That didn’t help. “Do you… _eat_ barley? I thought we just… fed it to cows and used it for beer. I’m not even sure about the cow part.”

“Now that you mention it, I’m not sure I ever have eaten it, no.”

Jack scratched at the bridge of his nose. He _really_ needed that third drink. Blissfully, Carter traded the liquor menu for the food menu, and Jack picked it up to see what was on tap.

There wasn’t a single beer listed.

Well, that was problem. _Beer before liquor, never been sicker_ , his college brain reminded him. “Really should’ve rethought my pre-gaming,” he muttered.

“What?” Carter asked, looking intently at him over the menu.

Well, crap, he hadn’t meant for her to hear that. “Nothing,” he tried.

“No, what… what did you say?” she pressed.

“I just, I….” Jack scrambled for the least pathetic thing to say and decided on, “I had a beer or two at the airport bar while I waited for you to get ready.”

She blinked. “You did?”

“I mean, not a big deal,” he passed off with a shrug. “I just -”

“I had two glasses of wine,” she interrupted.

Jack stared at her, stunned. “You did?”

“I did.” The grin started small but grew until she covered it with an embarrassed hand.

He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at that, shaking his head. Interplanetary warlords they could handle. A first date was apparently well beyond either of them.

Her menu landed flat on the table, closed, her fingers resting on top of it. “Can we just -”

But she chickened out, biting the backs of her lips to keep them together as her eyes fell to her lap. And she picked up her menu again.

“Just what?” Jack prompted.

She put the menu back down, but half in her lap and leaning against the edge of the table, and it looked like a shield. It took a long moment for her eyes to reach his. “Can we just get takeout and drink beer and watch a movie?”

He was already pushing back his chair.

~/~

“Admit it; you just wanted to watch this because you think Sean Connery’s hot.”

Carter’s laugh was bright and musical, her shoulder brushing his as she leaned toward the coffee table for her glass of wine. Jack had never been this close to her outside of work – twisted toward each other, their thighs pressed together – and it was beyond thrilling. “He’s not my type. His voice, though…. Mmm, I could listen to his voice forever.” Her eyes slipped closed in rapture as she took a sip.

It was Jack’s turn to chuckle. “Sorry I wasn’t born Scottish.”

“You have other good qualities,” she told him with a grin, settling back against the sofa with her wine glass in her lap. The Thai food on the table had long since been abandoned. “Of course, after _The Hunt for Red October_ comes _Patriot Games_. And Harrison Ford is definitely hot.”

“I knew we should have stuck with the Chuck Norris movies,” he muttered in feigned disgust.

“Not hot,” she agreed. “Sean Bean isn’t bad in _Patriot Games_ , either, once he loses the mullet.”

“No mullets? Sam Carter, that’s downright discriminatory,” he accused, and she had to pick up her wine to keep from spilling it as she laughed again. “And here I would’ve sworn MacGyver was your teenage crush.”

The sound that came out of her was practically a giggle. “Yeah, but not for his _hair_ ,” she insisted. “It was his smile that did me in. And all his wacky ideas.”

“Well, I can understand that. I love your wacky ideas.” Jack shifted the hand on the back of the couch to gently brush her cheek.

For a moment, she just stared at him, her eyes alight. Then she set her glass back on the coffee table, slid a hand around his neck, and pressed her lips to his. He accepted eagerly, his arms around her to cradle her closer as he suckled her upper lip. It felt playful, tender; he could feel her smiling against his lips as they kissed and couldn’t help but do the same. Her knees slid up and over his as she turned fully into him, and Jack’s hand slid to her hip to pull her closer, flush against his body. He could have pushed for more… but at the moment, he was so content just to have her in his arms, happy and stress-free.

They ended up temple to temple, wrapped around each other. “You taste like coconut milk,” Jack murmured in her ear.

He felt her lips turn up. “Do I?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Mm. I didn’t check.” And she kissed him again, her tongue slipping between his lips to taste him better. “Curry,” she decided.

“Not too spicy for you, I hope.”

“Never.” He wouldn’t have thought it possible, but she shifted closer, her chest to his as she buried her face in his shoulder. He just held her, breathing her in as the movie played on without them.

“If you’re pretending I’m Sean Connery, you’re in trouble.”

Her joyous laughter was muffled against his neck. And he held her tight.

~/~

Jack’s cell phone rang, and he groaned into his pillow. He would never be allowed to die peacefully in his sleep; they would have to bug him about the crisis first – even though he’d warned his staff that he was _off the clock_ this weekend and _not to be disturbed under penalty of death_. Annoyed, he flopped another foot toward the edge of the bed and reached an arm down to fish blindly for his pants.

And then he realized it wasn’t his super secure Air Force phone that was ringing. It was his personal one. And that was infinitely more annoying. Cracking open the eye that wasn’t smushed against the pillow, he squinted at the screen on his phone.

Daniel. Of course.

“You’d better be on fire,” he croaked in greeting.

“What?”

“On fire,” Jack repeated. “Actively burning. Napalmed. And even then, you should be calling 911 and not me.”

There was a brief silence before his friend asked, “Are you okay, Jack?”

Well, he had been two minutes ago. “What do you want, Daniel?”

“I was just calling to see how last night went. But, uh…. I’m starting to think that maybe….” His voice rang with concern.

At least he had friends who cared, even if they called him at terrible times. Jack rolled to his back and all the way over, planting his face into the shoulder of the beautiful woman beside him. The beautiful _naked_ woman beside him, who was watching him through sleepy but amused eyes. Without pulling the phone away, he told her, “He wants to know how our date went.”

Carter burst out laughing – certainly loud enough to carry through the phone – and shoved at his shoulder. “Jerk.”

“So, uh….” Daniel tried uncomfortably.

“She says it was okay,” Jack told him.

She laughed harder.

“I’m a solid… B plus.”

“Stop!” she protested, pushing at him again, and she was laughing so hard he moved just to be able to hear the phone.

"Right,” Daniel muttered. “Uh…. Why don’t you call me when you have clothes on?”

“Okay. But that’s gonna be a long, _long_ time.”

“Bye, Jack.”

He flipped the phone shut and tossed it somewhere far away before rolling back to his companion. She was grinning at him, still chuckling a little, and he thought he’d heard her laugh more in the last eighteen hours than in the ten years before that. And it made him so incredibly happy. Wrapping a leg over hers and pressing a kiss to the side of her neck, he asked, “What time is it?”

“Seven thirty.”

“That asshole.”

She laughed again. “He _cares_ about you, God forbid.”

“Mm.” The next kiss landed in the hollow triangle where her neck and shoulder met. “I don’t wanna get out of bed.”

“Oh, neither do I,” she told him, tipping her head to give him better access to her neck as her arms wound around him.

Jack shifted, parking his knees inside hers, and she smiled as he pressed a sleepy kiss to her mouth, then another. Her teeth scraped at his lower lip, and he mumbled, “Round two?”

“It’s round three for me, actually,” she reminded him with a grin.

“Oh, yeah.” He suckled at her cupid’s bow.

“Maybe later I’ll even up the score, just for simplicity’s sake,” she offered. “But for now….” Her legs wrapped around his waist, her fingers scraped lightly against his back, and she pulled him close.


End file.
